It sure has been a WHILE since my last blog post. I can’t say that it’s been uneventful. Or that I didn’t have anything to write about. As you may have noticed from my Social Media feeds, quite the opposite is true really. I was crazy busy. Blogging slipped away, and for that I apologize.

Training to be a “high performance” endurance athlete is, well… hard. For me, getting in fighting shape is hard enough that once something else (anything else, basically) hits, it’s hard enough to stay the course and complete the training let alone nutrition, rest, equipment upkeep, travel, etc required to do your job properly. And during the 2016 season I had a lot on my plate.

Matt Green Photo 2016

Last winter, we decided to remodel our north end cottage. It was the kind of remodel where you wonder why you didn’t just knock the house down and start from scratch. The kind where you completely refinance (yikes!), build a new building next to your existing house, add a porch, pour patios, build a rental apartment, etc, etc. You get the drift. It was a six-month ordeal that hit right during race season. In fact, the project wrapped up in August. Just in time for the triathlon season to wind down. -Ha!

There was a lot on my plate in addition to training. Physically and mentally. I used to think I was invincible when I worked a bazillion hour work week and still raced at the top end of the amateur triathlon ranks. But as a professional I’ve realized that the faster I want (need) to go, the harder the training. For me, that doesn’t allow room for much else. And if I take on a new project, something else has got to give. During the 2016 season, it was web presence (among other things). I had to streamline to a nearly Instagram-only engagement format.

Well that was handy, since I managed to not completely embarrass myself on the race course, and even step on the podium a few times. Instagram is great to keep connected, but it isn’t quite rewarding to me creatively. I have a desire to create art. I don’t desire to be prolific, I just like to produce things I can be proud of. Pots, sculptures, songs, videos, designs, etc. In college, I studied chemistry and mathematics, but as electives I studied music, sculpture, guitar, as well as film & video production. These remained important creative outlets, but I just didn’t know how to really make them jive with my athletic career.

Until now.

In this age of engagement, I see video (herein referred to as “film”) as a creative medium and to highlight my supporters. That’s the way endurance sports marketing is evolving. It’s time for some more entertaining and interesting content that takes people places and maybe even inspires. So for now, I’ll use filmmaking as a tool to convey those ideas and stories under my 10Ten brand umbrella.

I plan to use my own experiences as a starting point. But my ultimate desire would be capture and convey adventures of others. I have ideas on how to do this, that would be unique and perhaps unexpected in the endurance sports space. Of course, I’ll let it evolve organically as I do with just about everything in my life… but I have ideas about how to eventually bring a fresh perspective to the endurance sports experience. And I can’t wait to bring those ideas to life.

For now, I’m in the early stages of (re)learning the nuts and bolts since a lot has changed in the last 17 years. It’s been a rewarding learning experience so far, and I expect that to continue. I’ve become so re-invigorated that I wake up at night with ideas. I’m also brimming with new questions. That’s a passion and creativity that’s been dormant for some time. And until I get a pottery wheel and kiln, you’ll have to deal with my freshman year of filmmaking.

I’ll have a lot of announcements to make in the coming weeks. My 2017 racing schedule, partnership announcements, product highlights, and sponsor contests! Thanks for sticking around, it’s going to be an amazing year!